The Gema Shahadah Aisyah
Fajr Study

With her eyes still half open Gracia saw Atalie swirling in front of the mirror. Atalie was wearing a black robe with an A line cut that fit perfectly on her body. Gracia rubbed her eyes and blinked several times to make sure she didn't see wrong. But his eyes still functioned well, Atalie was actually wearing a gamis identical to Muslim clothes.

Gracia straightened her body, whether she was dreaming. For what Atalie woke up this morning blind and then pecked himself in front of the mirror as if he did not want anything wrong from his appearance. Though in the eyes of Gracia who is still sleepy, Atalie's appearance is perfect.

"Well, are you blind in the morning and beautiful?" Finally Gracia let out a voice out of curiosity to see the behavior of her best friend.

"You to study Ummi Maryam." Atalie turned to Gracia, she deliberately put on a big smile asking Gracia for her opinion about her appearance this morning.

"So?" Gracia gawked, now she understood Atalie's intention of staying at her boarding house. That's because Atalie wanted to go to Ummi Maryam's study. "Well, what demonic possession are you?" He jumped down from the bed to see Atalie more closely.

"Where is a demon as beautiful as me?" Atalie blinked her eyes flirtatiously.

"You go to college early in the morning often late, how can you go to study Umm Maryam early in the morning blind, I suspect you are possessed by demons."

"Yes, I'm going to get up so I can get up." Atalie puts her shoulders together, she accidentally stays at Gracia's boarding house so she can go to the study without her father and mother knowing. Fortunately they immediately gave permission when Atalie wanted to stay here. Atalie had also been staying at Gracia's boarding house before, so her parents would not be suspicious.

The idea of staying overnight came to mind when Atalie came home from the bookstore yesterday. He immediately searched for information about the study of Maryam on the official website of the Al-Fatah mosque.

"You're going alone?" Gracia opened the curtains, right—the ceiling is still dark.

"Yes, if you want to come along." Atalie draped her sling bag containing a wallet and a tablet to take note of the important things during the later study.

"Relieve it!" Gracia returned to the bed and enveloped her entire body. "When it wasn't that you were playing with Khanza and Ayana why is it so addictive now?"

"I'm curious about the Ummi study." Atalie snatched the car keys and got out of the room. "Go first!"

Gracia did not say, she had returned to a dream world that was much more pleasant.

Atalie started the engine of the car, he saw the watch in his left hand, at half 5 o'clock exactly. Atalie hope he's not late for the mosque.

The road was still quiet, perhaps this was the first time Atalie had driven in the morning. Even if there is a morning lecture, it is usually at 7 and the road is crowded by other vehicles.

Atalie accidentally opened the car window so that she could breathe the morning air that turned out to make her calm.

"What is this air? god seems to give you better air quality at dawn." Atalie mutters. "Are Muslims waking up at dawn every day, they are lucky to be able to breathe better quality air."

The mosque was crowded when Atalie arrived but she was lucky that her studies had not yet begun. Shortly after he found a seat, Maryam said hello to open the study.

"It turns out that everything is female." Atalie circulated the view around, unlike during the study of Umar, Ummi Maryam study specifically for female worshipers.

"Alhamdulillah we are all given health to be present again in the routine study ba'da dawn today, as usual because here all are women then I will remove the niqab."

Atalie was flabbergasted to see Maryam's face for the first time, some worshippers also showed the same expression as her. Looks like they're also the first time they've come to the Maryam study.

"Now I know why Umar is handsome, eh." Atalie shuts her mouth because she unknowingly admits that Umar is handsome. His tanned skin and tall body made Atalie always want to see the man. Still clearly recorded on Atalie's head when Umar came with sweat that soaked his body but somehow in his eyes Umar actually looks more handsome. Maybe Atalie's gone crazy.

"Islam is so glorifying women by giving us rules to close the aurat, one of the beauty of Islam is that women will still look beautiful even without showing their skin, by taking care of the awrah we will also be respected by the men out there, too, there is an opinion that Islam restricts women's wiggle room and curbs them because it obliges them to veil when behind it Islam has protected us precious women."

Atalie recalled how surprised Maryam was to see herself back then. Despite wearing a veil but Atalie knew at the time that Maryam was surprised to see her appearance. It was only natural that Maryam and Umar were surprised, they always saw the woman dressed in a covered dress. They also do not know if Atalie is non-Muslim. Atalie had no reason to tell them.

The sun began to peek producing a yellowish ray on the horizon. The worshippers came out one by one from the mosque in an orderly manner. They came home with new knowledge from the study of Maryam.

"Ummi." Atalie accidentally came out last to say hello to Maryam.

"God Nduk, you are beautiful, Ummi hardly knows you." Maryam praised Atalie's performance as being very different from the first time they met. The black gimmick that Atalie was wearing was in stark contrast to her white skin. If Atalie didn't say hello first, then Maryam wouldn't recognize her.

Atalie's blushing cheeks were praised like that by Maryam.

"Who are you going home with?" Atalie saw the parking lot was empty.

"Normally Abah and Umar were picked up."

"I'll take it with me then." Atalie would not let Maryam here alone while waiting for Umar.

"Don't Umar come soon." Reject the delicate Maryam.

"It's okay Ummi, come on." Atalie pulls Maryam's hand towards the only car in the courtyard. "I'll take Ummi safely." He said to convince Mary.

Maryam smiled getting into Atalie's car. Atalie made Maryam unable to resist her kindness. Atalie is a reliable forger.

"Can you get up in the morning?" Maryam remembers Atalie saying she couldn't get up early.

"Yes, it turns out that if you have the intention to also wake up early when it used to feel very impossible to do it." Atalie doesn't even believe in herself for being able to get up early, it's fitting that Gracia thinks Atalie is possessed by a demon.

"God makes you easy."

Atalie fell silent, would God have made it easier even if he had never mentioned His name.

"Ummi is so beautiful." Atalie was finally able to pull out a compliment for Maryam after those words settled into her brain for a few minutes.

"Thank you Atalie."

"It's worth Umar being handsome."

Mary laughed at Atalie's words. Even Atalie did not hesitate to praise Umar in front of Maryam.

"Umar says you've never talked but you seem to know Umar well."

"It didn't take long to see someone's good looks, Ummi."

"You're right."

Atalie's car stopped right in front of the gate of the Adz-Zaidan boarding school. Atalie went down first to open the door for Maryam.

"Atalie, why did you open the door for me?" Maryam was shocked when Atalie opened the door for her.

Atalie answered the question with a smile, it was because she saw Maryam carrying three books and a bag in her hand so Atalie intended to help a little.

"Thank you."

A santri opened the gate, Umar's motorbike emerged from behind the brown iron gate.

"Ummi, I was just picking you up." Umar stopped his motorbike from seeing Maryam.

"Ummi ushered Atalie." Maryam glanced at Atalie behind her.

Umar was stunned to see Atalie's appearance which made him forget that the girl was not a Muslim.

"Let's go in first, Nduk." Take Maryam.

"I went straight home to Ummi."

It is true that Atalie guessed that the book was left in Umar's house.

"Let's sit and wait for Umar to pick up your book."

Atalie follows Maryam as she wants to go back to Gracia's boarding house and sleep. Atalie was not treading the earth at the moment, her feet were floating. Atalie misses the bed.

"I'll wait here for Ummi." Atalie sat in the gazebo on the edge of the pool. Unlike in his house, the pool was murky, making Atalie unable to see what fish was in it.

Maryam went into the house to put down her bag and book.

"Do you know that this book is missing?" Umar thrust the book at Atalie.

"I know that's why yesterday I bought a new book that's exactly like this." Atalie put the book in her bag, she knew but didn't dare come here again to ask for it.

"Sir, I have boiled yams, try it." Maryam came with a plate of purple sweet potatoes that were still smoky.

Umar went up to the gazebo to eat purple yam and Maryam.

"It can be eaten?" Atalie saw Maryam hesitant, she often ate tubers like potatoes and radishes but had never seen purple bulbs before.

"Of course, you've never eaten a sweet potato?" Maryam took the yam first to dispel Atalie's doubts.

Atalie smiled stiffly. Atalie thought for 23 years of living on earth she had tried a lot of food but it turned out that there was a lot she had never eaten. It was even the first time Atalie had seen purple yams. Atalie had to protest at her mama for just feeding her. Renata had to learn to cook more diverse dishes.

Atalie took one yam and was about to devour it after it was blown for a while, she would not do such a foolish thing as that time again: drink tea that was still hot.

"Gee!" Maryam screeched, "peel the skin first."

"Oh." Atalie.

"Give it to me." Tukas Umar's.

Atalie gave the yam to Umar.

"Look at how I did it." Umar peeled the thin skin of sweet potatoes with slow movements so that Atalie could find out how.

Atalie covered her face with her hands, she was embarrassed because of trivial things like peeling the yam she could not. Atalie wanted to put her face in a bag with the book of the Holy Word so that she could realize that there were many things she did not know in this world.

"If it's clear of the skin, it can be eaten." Umar gave the yam he had peeled to Atalie.

"Thank you." Atalie's faint voice was barely audible, it was because she was already embarrassed. Atalie was surprised when chewing the sweet potato, why did she just know if there were plants in the soil that taste so good.

"You've been living abroad all this time, you don't know purple ketella."

Atalie did not reply, she had lived in China but only one year to learn Mandarin.

"I'll learn more plant names." Atalie said with a bland smile.

Umar laughed in response to Atalie's sentence, it sounded like a kindergarten boy who had just learned the name of fruit and plants.

"Umar, don't be like Atalie." Maryam rubbed Atalie's arm.

Umar looked down with laughter, he just found a human like Atalie who does not know how to eat sweet potatoes.

"Ummi, can I have another one to take home?"

"May, just take everything, Umar please get me a plastic bag for Atalie."

"Eh don't Ummi, just one for my friend Gracia, she must have never eaten yam."

"It's okay to take everything home, we still have plenty in the garden."

Umar came down from the gazebo to pick up a plastic bag for Atalie. He couldn't help but smile at Atalie's behavior just now.

Umar stuffed all the steamed yams in the dish into a plastic bag.

"Here are you planting too?"

"Yes." Yeah."

"Well, you are good at gardening, the star fruit you plant is also very sweet." Atalie received a bag of steamed yam plastic from Umar's hand. "Ummi thank you, Umar thank you, I say thank you."

"Ummi who should thank you, be careful on the road."

Atalie got in the car with a big smile because she got a steamed sweet potato full of plastic bags. He will share it with Gracia later on campus.

"Atalie came to the Ummi study?" Umar asked after Atalie's car was not seen.

"Yes." Yeah."

"Umar wants to tell Ummi something." Umar invited Maryam to sit back in the gazebo.

"What's that?" Maryam noticed the serious look on Umar's face.

"Atalie is non-Muslim."

"Ummi knows." Maryam remained calm, she had guessed since Umar told her that Atalie did not know who Aisha was.

"Ummi know?" Umar turned his back, he thought he was the only one who knew about it here.

"Ummi look at the cross-shaped hanger in his bag."

"Then will Ummi still let him come to the mosque?"

"Yes, who knows it could be a way for him to get to know Islam better."

Umar confirmed the words of Maryam, deep down he hoped that Atalie could seem to be a Muslim.

"You like her?"

Umar gasped at Maryam's question, why did Maryam ask so. Umar shook his head, he had no reason to put his liking on Atalie.

"Not Ummi."

"But you always smile when Atalie comes, even then you smile when you tell her about Atalie."

"Just because you smile doesn't mean Umar likes you, Ummi." Umar dodged, he used all his common sense to deny that feeling.